Kwon Seong-dong "Democratic Party, Glad to See Lawmakers' Committee Promise Fulfilled"

Kwon Seong-dong, floor leader of the People Power Party, is holding a meeting with the bereaved family member Lee Rae-jin at the National Assembly on the 24th. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Hyun-seok] Kwon Seong-dong, floor leader of the People Power Party, said on the 24th that regarding Park Hong-geun, floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, stating that "we agree that the chairmanship of the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee should be held by the People Power Party as agreed by the two parties' floor leaders last year," "Although the fulfillment of the promise is very delayed, I think it is fortunate that they have expressed their intention to fulfill the promise even now."

After visiting the funeral hall set up at Seoul Asan Medical Center in Songpa-gu for the late Professor Emeritus Cho Soon of Seoul National University and paying his respects, Floor Leader Kwon told reporters, "We did not concede the Legislation and Judiciary Committee. That was already promised," adding, "We will see if there are any additional conditions or demands and make a judgment accordingly."

When asked how he interprets the Democratic Party's demand that "in return, the People Power Party should also promise to implement the previous agreement between the two parties," he said, "They spoke vaguely, so I am not sure what they mean, but the issue of the Special Committee on Judicial Reform related to the 'complete prosecution reform' has already been rejected and vetoed by the public," adding, "It received inappropriate evaluations, and I believe that is reflected in the results of the local elections. The same applies to opinion polls."

Floor Leader Kwon added, "If we agree to the Special Committee on Judicial Reform, it would mean agreeing to the 'complete prosecution reform' bill itself."

Regarding the question, "Does that mean you cannot accept the chairmanship of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee even if the Democratic Party offers it?" he explained, "It’s not that they are offering it; that is a given," adding, "They initially threatened to default on the promissory note but then decided to keep it, so it is neither a concession nor a favor to us, and therefore, we have nothing more to give."

He also said, "It is important to simply organize the National Assembly around standing committees and plenary sessions, so we just need to keep the promise to give the chairmanship of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, elect the Speaker of the National Assembly, and divide the standing committee chairmanships 12 to 7," criticizing, "Raising various conditions and demands over a matter that can be resolved simply is basically saying not to negotiate and that they do not want to reach a negotiation settlement."